Received an automated call from this number around 11:00 PST today (12/16/2013). They requested us to file documents with them in our jurisdiction, and gave us a 866 phone number to call for this. Since I used to work at a collection agency and law office, I know that what they are doing is wrong according to the FDCPA, and we received no such letters from anyone claiming debt against us at all.

According to several laws, they have to follow certain procedures before collecting debt at all. Please keep in mind that any advice I am giving in this positing on this forum is not considered legal advice, I am not a lawyer, and you should contact a lawyer if you have any questions regarding your specific case.

1., Any legit collection agency that contacts you for any amount of debt (Even if you have no debt at all) has to read consumers their "Miranda rights" before any information is collected (i.e. "This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information you provide can, and will be used for that purpose.")

2. Threatening to Arrest someone if they didn't pay debt is illegal, and makes legitimate collection agencies look bad. The police in my area knows about this, and they often are very helpful advising everyone to know what to look for when identifying fake collection agency threats. Only Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) such as the police, the state highway patrol (CHP in California) or troopers (other state patrols), and/or the local or county sheriff (If there is no police dept. where you live) can arrest you, and even they have to follow certain procedures and provide any warrants (such as any bench warrants for failure to appear in count) for your arrest if they travel to your house and place you in handcuffs, and then tell you why you're arrested, and advise you of your Miranda rights (right to remain silent, and right to an attorney, and if you cannot afford one, then the public defender will be assigned to your case.)

3. If there is any court hearing on your debt, only the Sheriff or other LEOs in the county which you reside in can serve you any notice which includes all information on where to go for your hearing, what date it will be on, who is suing you, the amount in question, and any other supporting documentation. This is done in the civil court system here in CA, either through small claims or otherwise.

4. If you don't show up to the civil court, then they will issue the judgment against you automatically unless the plaintiff does not appear in court. The system is similar to how cops show up at Traffic Courts here in CA - no show = no judgment filed, and the case is dismissed until you get sued again.

5. The burden of proof resides on the plaintiff to provide the court with documentation on your debt, what has been done to attempt to collect the debt, and they are sworn in under oath, meaning that any evidence they have must be legitimate, and the civil court judge determines what is admissible evidence and what is not. Any phony evidence about the alleged debt collector or plaintiff provides is a major crime if presented at your hearing day, and you can issue a counter-claim if there is any questionable.evidence provided, both compensatory damages (money that you spent defending yourself such as lawyer fees, court fees, etc...) and punitive damages (such as pain and suffering, medical bills, etc...)

6. Since the civil court system does not handle any jail/probation/parole or anything else but money owed, they cannot issue any arrest warrant against you in Civil court at all. There have to be criminal charges filed against you with the DA's office in order to arrest anyone (5th Amendment rights no person will be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law involved.) (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amendment_ ... es_Constitution).

7. Just owing money to someone is not a crime, but collection agencies can garnish wages and/or levy your bank accounts  and they can still sue you again for the same amount plus any % interest accumulated since it's not double jeopardy until the plaintiff testifies regarding the amount in question.

8. If you file for bankruptcy protection (Chapter 7 or 13), collectors must stop calling you immediately (you can still tell them not to call you at all at anytime without a bankruptcy, and they must comply with you or your lawyer/rep handling your case), All debt owed on your credit reports or otherwise money owed to all companies (with the exception of student loans or the like) must have a $0 balance after the court accepts the bankruptcy on behalf.

Please keep in mind that I am not a lawyer and any advice I give in this posting is not considered as legal advice based on any cases and each case is different depending on the circumstances involved, state you live in, etc... If you have any problems with debt, you should consult with a lawyer to determine what the laws are in your state, and how your case can be handled appropriately.

I wish you all the best of luck!

Tifas Revenge

The company that belongs to that number is a legit company that has become a victim of a phishing scam.  They, as well as BOA are aware of it.

I also recieved this text message a few minutes ago. Scam.

message said word for word

Anonymous:[Unverified-Sender]
(9171482141) BANK-OF-AMERICA
MNMZ alert 953821. Please call
8556337761

Received text claiming to be Bank of America. Text message read: (917-337-6397) Bank of America Alert. Please call 855-633-7761.

Called the 855 number and it had a machine tell me that my bank card had been locked and asked me to input my bank card number into their system to unlock it. SCAM!!!!

I called the 917 number and it was some guy's voicemail.

I called Bank of America's fraud department and they said that they couldn't do anything about it. So I called the police and they're on the way to make a report.

Received a Text from 855-633-7761, it showed as an unverified-sender: Message as follows:

9171396733 (Bank of America) Alert. Please Call 855-633-7761

The number is disconnected

from: 917-592-5829 (VabkOfAmerica) Alert. Please call 855-633-7761

I received a text message from this number claiming an alert from BOA also.
caller ID showed 917 854-2119.

Both my wife and I received similar txts from this number claiming to be BOA

rcvd a text from this number...???

Received text from this number.  Sounds like a scam claiming to be Bank of America

recieved text from this number